--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is an open question whether any…" description: "\"It is an open question whether any behavior based on fear of eternal punishment can be regarded as ethical or should be regarded as merely cowardly.\" —..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/890/margaret-mead-982_behavior_it-is-an-open-question-whether-any-behav_2079894.jpg" --- # It is an open question whether any behavior based on fear… ![“It is an open question whether any behavior based on fear of eternal punishment can be regarded as ethical or should be regarded as merely cowardly.” quote by Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/890/margaret-mead-982_behavior_it-is-an-open-question-whether-any-behav_2079894.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/890/margaret-mead-982_behavior_it-is-an-open-question-whether-any-behav_2079894.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/890/margaret-mead-982_behavior_it-is-an-open-question-whether-any-behav_2079894.jpg) > “It is an open question whether any behavior based on fear of eternal punishment can be regarded as ethical or should be regarded as merely cowardly.” [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The morality of actions driven by fear of divine punishment is debated; such motives may be seen as ethical or merely cowardly. **In simple terms:** Fear‑based actions raise ethical questions. Key Takeaway Examine motives behind moral choices. Themes ethics fear religion Mood thoughtful inquisitive Type philosophical analytical When to use this quote - legal judgments - personal decisions - religious practices Key Concepts moral philosophy psychology of belief Questions to Reflect On - Is fear a sufficient basis for moral action? - Can ethical behavior exist without belief in punishment? A Different Perspective Motivation alone may not justify ethical behavior. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Behavior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/behavior/) [Cowardly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cowardly/) [Eternal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eternal/) [Ethical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ethical/) [Ethical Regarded](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ethical-regarded-4057326/) [Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) [Habits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/habits/) [Merely Cowardly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/merely-cowardly-4057327/) [Punishment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/punishment/) [Regarded Ethical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/regarded-ethical-3754165/) [Should](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should/) ## Related quotes > [“So answer me, are you merely a cowardly Moses, pointing the way to the Promised Land but poisoned by doubt and so unable to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-vigorito/so-answer-me-are-you-merely-a-cowardly-moses-pointing-the-way-to-the/) [Tony Vigorito](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-vigorito/) > [It cannot be denied that Islam, regarded as an ethical ideal plus a certain kind of polity - by which expression I mean a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-iqbal/it-cannot-be-denied-that-islam-regarded-as-an-ethical-ideal-plus-a/) [Muhammad Iqbal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-iqbal/) > [Under no stretch of imagination can war be regarded as an ethical process; yet war, force, terror, and propaganda were the evolutionary means employed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-keith/under-no-stretch-of-imagination-can-war-be-regarded-as-an-ethical/) [Arthur Keith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-keith/) > [I have never observed other effects of whipping than to render boys more cowardly, or more willfully obstinate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/i-have-never-observed-other-effects-of-whipping-than-to-render-boys/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [Man would indeeded be in a poor way if he had to be restrained by fear of punishment and hope of reward after death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/man-would-indeeded-be-in-a-poor-way-if-he-had-to-be-restrained-by/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [We must be neither cowardly nor rash but courageous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/we-must-be-neither-cowardly-nor-rash-but-courageous/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [“I’m a coward.” “No—” “Don’t deny what we both know to be true.” Richard put his hand on Jonathan’s shoulder. “You are worn down…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sondra-allan-carr/i-m-a-coward-no-don-t-deny-what-we-both-know-to-be-true-richard-put/) [Sondra Allan Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sondra-allan-carr/) > [ “\[...\] god's cowardly, it doesn't want to know or take responsibility for what it's doing.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-aylett/god-s-cowardly-it-doesn-t-want-to-know-or-take-responsibility-for/) [Steve Aylett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-aylett/) > [You're obliged to pretend respect for people and institutions you think absurd. You live attached in a cowardly fashion to moral and social conventions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octave-mirbeau/you-re-obliged-to-pretend-respect-for-people-and-institutions-you/) [Octave Mirbeau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octave-mirbeau/) > [To go behind a man's hall-door is mean, cowardly, unfair opposition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-woodhull/to-go-behind-a-man-s-hall-door-is-mean-cowardly-unfair-opposition/) [Victoria Woodhull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-woodhull/) > [Not to be cowardly when it comes to our own actions! Not to leave them in the lurch!--The sting of conscience is indecent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/not-to-be-cowardly-when-it-comes-to-our-own-actions-not-to-leave-them/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [It is no less vain to wish death than it is cowardly to fear it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-sidney/it-is-no-less-vain-to-wish-death-than-it-is-cowardly-to-fear-it/) [Philip Sidney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-sidney/) > [The world, and the great and free United States in particular, is full of narrow-minded, ignorant, moronic, bigoted, cowardly, self-righteous, anemic, pig-headed, stupid, puritanical,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-atherton/the-world-and-the-great-and-free-united-states-in-particular-is-full/) [Gertrude Atherton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-atherton/) > [Poor human nature, what horrible crimes have been committed in thy name! All wars are wars among thieves who are too cowardly to fight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/poor-human-nature-what-horrible-crimes-have-been-committed-in-thy/) [Emma Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-goldman/) > [A love to Christ which is so cowardly and selfish that it is unwilling to proclaim by a public confession its faith in Him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abbott-eliot-kittredge/a-love-to-christ-which-is-so-cowardly-and-selfish-that-it-is/) [Abbott Eliot Kittredge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abbott-eliot-kittredge/) ## More by Margaret Mead > [The prophet who fails to present a bearable alternative and yet preaches doom is part of the trap that he postulates. Not only does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-prophet-who-fails-to-present-a-bearable-alternative-and-yet/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [The contempt for law and the contempt for the human consequences of lawbreaking go from the bottom to the top of American society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-contempt-for-law-and-the-contempt-for-the-human-consequences-of/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [If one cannot state a matter clearly enough so that even an intelligent twelve-year-old can understand it, one should remain within the cloistered walls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/if-one-cannot-state-a-matter-clearly-enough-so-that-even-an/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [I learned the value of hard work by working hard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/i-learned-the-value-of-hard-work-by-working-hard/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [Children must be taught how to think, not what to think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/children-must-be-taught-how-to-think-not-what-to-think/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [Women are scolded both for being mothers and for not being mothers, for wanting to eat their cake and have it too, and for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/women-are-scolded-both-for-being-mothers-and-for-not-being-mothers/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [we came to realize that a civilization which rode roughshod over the way of life of other peoples was incorporating evil in its own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/we-came-to-realize-that-a-civilization-which-rode-roughshod-over-the/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [WE MUST DEVISE A SYSTEM IN WHICH PEACE IS MORE REWARDING THAN WAR.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/we-must-devise-a-system-in-which-peace-is-more-rewarding-than-war/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [Through a grandmother's voice and hands the end of life is known at the beginning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/through-a-grandmother-s-voice-and-hands-the-end-of-life-is-known-at/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [today's children are the first generation to grow up in a world that has the power to destroy itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/today-s-children-are-the-first-generation-to-grow-up-in-a-world-that/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [We are now at a point where we must educate our children in what no one knew yesterday, and prepare our schools for what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/we-are-now-at-a-point-where-we-must-educate-our-children-in-what-no/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [Humanity . . . lies in man's capacity to question the known and imagine the unknown.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/humanity-lies-in-man-s-capacity-to-question-the-known-and-imagine-the/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [Fathers are biological necessities, but social accidents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/fathers-are-biological-necessities-but-social-accidents/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [“One of the most dangerous things that can happen to a child is to kill or torture an animal and not be held responsible.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/one-of-the-most-dangerous-things-that-can-happen-to-a-child-is-to/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [We end up with the contradictory picture of a society that appears to throw its doors wide open to women, but translates her every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/we-end-up-with-the-contradictory-picture-of-a-society-that-appears-to/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) [Explore all 314 Margaret Mead quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) ## More Behavior quotes > [The vision of the left, full of envy and resentment, takes its worst toll on those at the bottom - whether black or white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-vision-of-the-left-full-of-envy-and-resentment-takes-its-worst/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [As you begin changing your thinking, start immediately to change your behaviour. Begin to act the part of the person you would like to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/as-you-begin-changing-your-thinking-start-immediately-to-change-your/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I now know that deep within the human concept is something dark, selfish, and completely willing to do whatever is necessary to support the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-west/i-now-know-that-deep-within-the-human-concept-is-something-dark/) [Melissa West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-west/) > [“We are endowed with genes which code out our reaction to beavers and otters, maybe our reaction to each other as well. We are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/we-are-endowed-with-genes-which-code-out-our-reaction-to-beavers-and/) [Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) > [The number of poor, and poorly prepared, students who succeed in college and beyond undercuts the simplistic notion that economic or educational disadvantage is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roland-merullo/the-number-of-poor-and-poorly-prepared-students-who-succeed-in/) [Roland Merullo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roland-merullo/) > [To behave creatively in art means behavior with skill; and skill comes from discipline, not derangement. The artist who knows the rules -and proportion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/burne-hogarth/to-behave-creatively-in-art-means-behavior-with-skill-and-skill-comes/) [Burne Hogarth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/burne-hogarth/) > [You don't put milk in chamomile tea - that's disgusting behavior! That's not right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-fraser/you-don-t-put-milk-in-chamomile-tea-that-s-disgusting-behavior-that-s/) [Laura Fraser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-fraser/) > [The laws of thermodynamics, as empirically determined, express the approximate and probable behavior of systems of a great number of particles, or, more precisely,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-willard-gibbs/the-laws-of-thermodynamics-as-empirically-determined-express-the/) [J. 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We keep them pretty well…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/if-you-want-good-behavior-don-t-pay-on-a-commission-basis-our-judges/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) [Browse all 4,218 Behavior quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/behavior/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It is an open question whether any behavior based on fear of eternal punishment can be regarded as ethical or should be regarded as merely cowardly.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Margaret Mead" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/it-is-an-open-question-whether-any-behavior-based-on-fear-of-eternal/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Behavior" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/it-is-an-open-question-whether-any-behavior-based-on-fear-of-eternal/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/890/margaret-mead-982_behavior_it-is-an-open-question-whether-any-behav_2079894.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/890/margaret-mead-982_behavior_it-is-an-open-question-whether-any-behav_2079894.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/890/margaret-mead-982_behavior_it-is-an-open-question-whether-any-behav_2079894.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It is an open question whether any behavior based on fear of eternal punishment can be regarded as ethical…” — Margaret Mead", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Margaret Mead", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It is an open question whether...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/it-is-an-open-question-whether-any-behavior-based-on-fear-of-eternal/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/it-is-an-open-question-whether-any-behavior-based-on-fear-of-eternal/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```